‘Everyone’s got a crack of the whip’ as Tommy Fitzgerald prepares to cut Laois senior hurling panel

Laois senior hurling manager Tommy Fitzgerald and his players have had a busier week than usual, with Laois playing three games in a week.

Laois played Wexford in Rathdowney on Sunday, January 4, Carlow in Stradbally on Thursday, January 8, and Kilkenny in Rathdowney again on Sunday, January 11. 

Despite Laois losing to Kilkenny on Sunday in the Walsh Shield semi-finals, Fitzgerald has been happy with Laois’ Walsh Cup/Shield campaign.

“I suppose happy overall with the work we've seen over the last seven or eight days. Probably not ideal playing the third game today, but look, it’s as good as a number of training sessions or even practice games. We've got to see loads of players, we've got to test them against good opposition in a competitive environment. Lots there we have to work on, obviously. Even today, at times, I think we probably could and should have been a little bit closer. But look, overall happy, we saw a lot of players, we got through a lot of work, we kind of know where we are now, to be honest with you. Two weeks out from the league, it's served its purpose basically,” he said.

Laois secured a hard-fought win over Carlow in Stradbally on Thursday evening in the Walsh Cup Shield, a midweek clash that saw manager Tommy Fitzgerald make 10 changes to the starting 15. Despite the pre-season setting, the game was played with intensity and determination, giving Fitzgerald the chance to test a large portion of his squad ahead of the league.

“We made 10 changes from the Wexford game, so that was probably the most pleasing thing, that we got to see loads of lads that day. We made 10 substitutions as well, so we played 25 players. But yeah, the energy was good that night, the work rate was good, the attitude was good.

“Overall, over the three games, I think that's probably the most pleasing thing, is just a bit of honesty from the lads. You can see that they're working hard, and they're all fighting for jerseys, and you can see that they love hurling for Laois, and they all want that jersey. So yeah, Thursday night probably epitomised that.

“I thought a Thursday night in January, midweek game, Walsh Cup Shield, probably not the most attractive proposition. These lads are fighting for jerseys, and they're showing it on the pitch in terms of work rate. Lots of work to do hurling-wise, obviously, but overall, I suppose, if you're looking for a sum-up of the Walsh Cup, probably happy enough with what we've seen and what we've gotten out of it,” Fitzgerald said.

Sunday’s game against Kilkenny saw The Cats get off to a blistering start, with 1-5 on the board after just six minutes. Fitzgerald described the first five or ten minutes as ‘rabbit-in-the-headlights stuff’.

“We were into a bit of wind. It was kind of cross-field wind, but it was nearly favouring Kilkenny in the first-half. The first five, ten minutes were almost rabbit-in-the-headlights stuff. We were scrambling there, but we settled, and we left a lot of scores behind us. Tricky now with that wind, and the ground, even compared to last Sunday, I guess, was a lot softer. So, it wasn't a nice day for hurling by any means. But yeah, we did settle after the first couple of minutes, and we found our feet. I thought we had a couple of missed chances early in the second half. We could have got into a position to maybe go for the last ten, but from that aspect, we’ve loads to work on too,” he said.

Now comes the worst part of inter-county management as Fitzgerald must cut his panel down before the beginning of the league against Mayo on Sunday, January 25.

“That's the worst part, to be honest with you. We have every one of the lads come in, they've given massive effort, and they're good lads. They want to hurt for a Laois. We had three challenge games pre-Christmas, and we had these three games, so we have got a chance to see everyone. So from that point of view, everyone’s got a crack of the whip. So yeah, we have a couple of really tough decisions to make in the next week or so, but that's the nature of it. We are given a number, and we have to go with it; that’s county hurling,” he admitted.

Fitzgerald rounded off his interview by giving the latest on the panel’s injury situation.

“There are a few; they're all rehabbing, though. We've probably five or six that we haven't seen yet, and we've picked up a couple of injuries this week as well. But yeah, a few lads we probably won't see for the first few rounds of league either. But look, they're all on track, and they're all progressing well. We knew where they were at the start of the year, and they've progressed well since. So yeah, look, the panel, if we can keep the other lads injury-free, will get a lot stronger, hopefully, with those few bodies coming back over the next couple of weeks,” he concluded.

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